When I got started I began by making different kinds of pillows. I started with a basic square pillow, then made a quilted pillow, then made a whole quilt and more pillows. Then I made some basic stuffed animals. Then I made a basic dress.

I would say check in your local area to see if there are craft stores or fabrics stores that give basic lessons on how to sew, anything from getting to know your machine to how to sew a pillow to how to read a pattern are all good skills to start with

Sometimes challenging yourself or trying something new. Even if you fail at it, at least you learned what not to do next time. That's what I always do. Forcing myself to do something out of my comfort zone because if I truly want to learn, I need to do it myself and learn the mistakes to become better.

But if there are things that you don't even understand, I do suggest taking sewing classes or ask people you know who does know how to sew to give you pointers. Good luck!

Pick something and make that thing until you do it really well. Do it until you are sick of it.
Pillows work, so do pajama pants, tee shirts if you want to work on stretchy material sewing. Maybe even stuffed animals, felties are great for being able to focus on the technique without worrying about the fabrics all that much. Heck Christmas ornaments would be great hand sewing practice, and you can give away the best ones and wow your friends & family.

When I was about 13 and given free reign on my moms Singer (allowed to sew without adult supervision), I made about two dozen of the same stupid blouse, in different colors. Then I made bloomers, hey it was the eighties- they were popular at the time. Then I got on a circle skirt kick and made a bunch of those. Then I got really ambitious and made a Renn faire costume, chemise, petticoat, overdress & cloak. It took me months but turned out pretty good.
Then I signed up for sewing class in school. My teacher wasn't about to let me get an easy A, she offered me a dozen patterns that would actually be challenging, I chose the bikini. It turned out great, but I'm still not a fan of stretchy sewing.

Get the "fast and easy" low-cost patterns. I think the top three that I think teach the widest range of techniques to a beginner are drawstring/elastic pants, two-piece pajamas with buttons, and a lined vest. Start with easy things that are USEFUL - it's one thing to sew quilt blocks or pillows just to get practice sewing lines, but if you make yourself some pajamas, or flannel pants you can give to your family members for gifts, it not only gives you some good practice on garments, you can find them a good home!

Doing garments will help you learn about how the shapes of patterns create the shape of clothing - arm holes and sleeves, collars, pants. Pajama patterns also teach the beginnings of collar and facing theory, and a lined vest will help you to learn lining. This is why I prefer them for beginners who really want to learn how to sew their costumes but can't take classes, because of time or budget or lack of lessons/classes in their area.

__________________Founder and President, Madison Area Costuming Society, a chapter of the International Costumer's Guild

Get the "fast and easy" low-cost patterns. I think the top three that I think teach the widest range of techniques to a beginner are drawstring/elastic pants, two-piece pajamas with buttons, and a lined vest. Start with easy things that are USEFUL - it's one thing to sew quilt blocks or pillows just to get practice sewing lines, but if you make yourself some pajamas, or flannel pants you can give to your family members for gifts, it not only gives you some good practice on garments, you can find them a good home!

Doing garments will help you learn about how the shapes of patterns create the shape of clothing - arm holes and sleeves, collars, pants. Pajama patterns also teach the beginnings of collar and facing theory, and a lined vest will help you to learn lining. This is why I prefer them for beginners who really want to learn how to sew their costumes but can't take classes, because of time or budget or lack of lessons/classes in their area.

I started with DIY sewing kits from china and chinatown (i visited china recently and there was a shop full of them) lik these- http://www.etsy.com/search_results.p...ng+kits&page=1
actually i saw some in the dollarstore recently, they were DIY felt cakes
basically they give you instructions and all the fabric needed to make it and you just follow them, it's hand sewing though, and it didn't really teach me how to make clothes, haha
it just got me familiar with hand sewing, i still feel that it helped though >w>

Simplicity patterns has a line of patterns called "Learn to sew" Heres a link to them all on the simplicity website. http://www.simplicity.com/c-386-learn-to-sew.aspx
And if you keep an eye on Jo Ann fabrics they usually have some sort of sale on simplicity patterns at least once every month or so. I got some about a month ago 5 for $5

Get the "fast and easy" low-cost patterns. I think the top three that I think teach the widest range of techniques to a beginner are drawstring/elastic pants, two-piece pajamas with buttons, and a lined vest. Start with easy things that are USEFUL - it's one thing to sew quilt blocks or pillows just to get practice sewing lines, but if you make yourself some pajamas, or flannel pants you can give to your family members for gifts, it not only gives you some good practice on garments, you can find them a good home!

Doing garments will help you learn about how the shapes of patterns create the shape of clothing - arm holes and sleeves, collars, pants. Pajama patterns also teach the beginnings of collar and facing theory, and a lined vest will help you to learn lining. This is why I prefer them for beginners who really want to learn how to sew their costumes but can't take classes, because of time or budget or lack of lessons/classes in their area.

lol. In my case the pillows were practical--I was redoing my room to match a quilt that Grandma and I were making together. I still have them and they get used every day. (As for the quilt I really needed a warmer blanket and with the fleece backing it is wonderful!) Anyways, pajama pants are a good idea for the beginner. Now if only I could convince my sweetie that he should really try something easier than a double-breasted vest, a suit, or a tuxedo shirt for his first tries. XD Aww well, I'm sure he'll be ok--he makes scale models of buildings from construction paper, and with that behind him I'm sure pattern pieces will make sense.

You could always pick up a beginner sewing book. A good one will have patterns included with the book, basic terminology and skill breakdowns and then walkthroughs on how to use the pattern and sew the project.

I have "SEW sew everything workshop" by deborah rupp and it's very good. I hear that the collette book is good too.